


Investigator Dex and Detective Glaceon

by Denois



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Canon-typical Cursing, Childhood Friends, Getting Together, M/M, Major Illness, Many Flashbacks, Pokemon Detective Pikachu (2019) Spoilers, Violence typical to Detective Pikachu, detective pikachu au, mentions of parental death, other additional minor or background characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:27:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22164067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denois/pseuds/Denois
Summary: In the world of Pokémon, Nursey goes missing while investigating a mysterious illness that struck his parents. Nursey’s Glaceon partner tracks down Dex, a P.I. in Boston, to help find him. Shocked by the sudden appearance of a talking Pokémon, Dex realizes that Nursey's disappearance and his parents' illness is tied to Dex's own past. Dex and Glaceon are in a race against time, and Nursey might be in more danger than anyone expected.
Relationships: Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter
Comments: 30
Kudos: 62
Collections: OMGCP AU Bang 2019





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *The Plot of this story is significantly different from that of Detective Pikachu, however, there are enough similar elements that reading this could spoiler you for Detective Pikachu (2019) if you have not already seen it.
> 
> *Great big THANK YOU and appreciation for the artists that worked with me on this AU Bang, [Pretty-Meris](https://pretty-meris.tumblr.com/post/190135525940) and Poyopachii
> 
> *Also, huge shout out to [Draskireis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/draskireis) for beta and cheer reading and to Theo and AK and Алёша and Ghots and everyone in the 18+ discord for fact checking me on Pokémon stuff and providing encouragement to keep going.

Prologue

Derek sucked air and tried to ignore the stitch in his side. He really shouldn’t be this winded. Seventeen months earlier, he’d been part of a championship D1 hockey team and ran nearly daily.

He dodged around a tree, his foot slipping slightly in the leafy litter of the forest floor. Running on a treadmill or in a city park was nothing like running through the wilderness. 

A boulder exploded beside him and he changed direction away from it. 

He had to admit, his normal jogging routine didn’t have the life or death quality to it, which allowed him to pace himself a bit better. Glaceon’s side bumped against his leg as he ran and Derek worried that he’d kick him, but his Glaceon pulled ahead immediately afterward. Derek focused on following his Pokémon partner. 

He was starting to think that they might actually make it. Then, Glaceon jumped over a fallen log and Derek tried to follow. His toe got caught, pulling his leg out from under him and he landed in an undignified heap on the other side as he felt the energy from a blast move through the space recently occupied by his head before slamming into a tree nearby. 

He had a split second to be grateful that it hadn’t hit him before the tree exploded and he was knocked over by the shock wave and then buried in a pile of flying boughs. 

The forest suddenly hushed in an eerie silence, and he groaned as he tried to open his eyes. Tried to move. He couldn’t move his arms and legs, whether because of injury or the branches laying across him, he wasn’t sure. But when he managed to open his eyes, Glaceon looked down at him with concern. 

The edges of his vision started to fray and darken. The last thing that he saw was Mewtwo floating behind Glaceon.


	2. Chapter 2

> [Flashback]  
>  Dr Nurse stepped into her home office and out of her heels. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a slow breath in and out before picking up her shoes and striding over to her desk. She carefully set the pumps down where she could slip them on if anyone entered the room and then sat down to focus on the warm cup of tea. The small creamer cup held the perfect amount of milk and she stirred it in thoughtfully. 
> 
> Once she had inhaled the aroma and taken a sip, she set the cup down and picked up the pile of mail that had been left at hand. She flipped through the envelopes quickly; they’d been presorted for her according to importance, but she liked to double check.
> 
> The childish scrawl of “Derek Nurse” with a return address listing “Billy Fortin” in Maine caused her mouth to turn down briefly. She plucked the envelope from the pile before opening a drawer of her desk and adding it to a handful of envelopes with similarly messy writing and then she locked the drawer.
> 
> She took another sip of tea before dealing with the remaining items. It was prepared exquisitely. She decided that she would keep Esmé on staff. Good help was so hard to find.

* * *

Will stared at his inbox and sighed. He clicked refresh, but nothing new showed up. At least the Azure Insurance Company had responded to the email detailing his work and billing for the amounts over his retainer. The receipts had been accepted and he should receive a check in ten to fourteen business days. But in the meantime, he needed another job. 

He checked his phone, but there were no messages there. No cheating spouses. No missing kids. No cybersleuthing. No insurance claimants that he had to hope were having bad days so that he could provide proof that they weren’t faking and could pay his rent with a clear conscience. Not even so much as a ping from the old Frog group chat.

Against his will, his gaze slid over to the picture of the four of them, Cait included, in their graduation caps and gowns. It was on his desk because it was his favorite picture. It was his favorite picture because instead of looking at the camera, Nursey was looking at him. He could almost convince himself that Nursey’s smile was for him and not just happiness at graduating. 

Will closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He should probably put that picture away. He was just fooling himself and living in the past. He probably wouldn’t even get a birthday text in group chat. 

He let out a long sigh. 

“Huh. Chill. Derek’s got that same picture on his desk.”

Will’s eyes popped open and he looked around the room wildly. There was no one there, just a Pokémon. A glaceon. A glaceon which was standing on his desk, looking at his picture.

Will scooted backwards quickly while reaching behind him. He had an old hockey stick in the corner, if he could just get it. His hand closed around a handle and he whipped it forward between himself and the glaceon. 

The umbrella in his hand popped open. 

“Oh, chill. I think that’s bad luck.” 

“Stay back. How are you talking?” Will waved the umbrella at the glaceon. He didn’t actually stand a chance against a Pokémon that could lower its body temperature to -75 degrees fahrenheit, but he wanted to ensure some distance between them. 

The glaceon sighed. “Ok, put the umbrella down, or I will knock you out with my breath.”

Will straightened up and let the umbrella droop. “Uh….”

“Yeah. As soon as I said it, I realized. But you know what I mean. Freeze breath. I’ll do the freezey breath if you don’t just chill.”

Will let the umbrella fall from his hands onto the floor and leaned back in his chair. He didn’t move it forward though, instead keeping his back against the wall. “Ok. I’m chill. How are you talking?”

“Good question.” The glaceon laid down on Will’s desk, knocking over his pen cup and scattering pens across the floor. “I don’t know. You’re the first person to understand me.”

“Ok.” Will nodded and licked his lips. “Why are you in my office and how do you know that Nursey has the same picture on his desk?”

“Oh, that.” The glaceon did a funny move with its head that made the newsboy cap it was wearing spin off and over to land in Will’s lap. 

Will paused for a moment to consider the fact that the cherry on top of everything else happening right now was that the glaceon laying on his desk had been wearing a tiny little custom-made newsboy hat. He was a private investigator. He should have noticed something as odd as that. Of course, a talking glaceon was a little distracting.

He picked up the hat and looked inside. There was a patch inside that read   


> “If Found Return To:  
> Derek Nurse"

  
and listed an address in Beacon Hill.

“I came to a couple of days ago in nowheresville Maine with no memories and no clues. Except for that patch.” The glaceon paused and tilted its head. “Ok, not that patch. I was wearing a hoodie and a baseball cap, but it had the same kind of patch on the inside of it, too. I changed at Derek’s place.”

“Uh. Ok.”

“Right. Chill. Anyway. I made my way to the address and from what I picked up, the cops think that Derek is dead and the condo was going to be taken over by his sister. But if there’s a closet full of clothes that fit me, it’s a pretty sure bet that was my home.” 

“Wait. Stop. Derek’s dead?” Will was having a hard time getting his chest to expand and air to fill his lungs. He felt like he was drowning. 

“No. Of course not. That’s just what the cops think. Do you have any coffee?”

Will managed to drag in a shuddering breath. “He’s not dead? How do you know?”

“I can feel it in my jellies. About that coffee?”

Will stood up and walked over to his small coffee maker on autopilot, pouring a cup and adding two creamers and three sugars without thinking. “Your jellies?”

“Ch’Yeah. It’s a feeling, you know. Thank you, you’re the best. No wonder Derek had a dozen pictures of you in his place.” The glaceon paused and lapped up some coffee. “From what I gather, the cops don’t actually have any evidence, so he should be listed as a missing person. Why would they be trying to claim he’s dead? It doesn’t make sense. I smell a cover up.”

“He’s not dead? Just missing. You’re sure? What were you doing in Maine?”

“Pretty sure. And no clue. Amnesia, remember?”

“Amnesia doesn’t work like that.”

Glaceon stopped sipping at the coffee and fixed Will with a stare. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought the sign on your door said private investigator, not Pokémon Brain Scientist.”

“Ok. Fine. You made your point. Maybe it does work that way for Pokémon .”

Will sat back down and rubbed his temple while Glaceon continued slurping loudly.

“Let me see if I follow. You and Nursey were in rural Maine, reasons unknown. Something happened to knock you out, giving you amnesia, and he went missing. You made your way to his condo using the address in your hat where you overheard cops talking about him being dead and his sister coming to take care of his stuff?”

“Ch’yeah. That about covers it. Could I get some more of this? This is really good coffee.”

Will snorted. “I think you mean wicked cheap coffee.” He stood up and poured another cup, adding the creamer and sugar by reflex.

“All coffee is good coffee.” 

Will set the cup back in front of Glaceon and waited out the initial slurping. “So, why did you come to me? I haven’t talked to Derek in over a year. He doesn’t even text group chat. We aren’t close anymore, you’ve got the wrong guy.”

Glaceon lifted his head from the cup to stare at Will. “Oh, do I? Because I can see at least ten pictures of Derek in this room alone. I already mentioned the dozen or so that Derek has of you. He had your number and address written down as an emergency contact on the fridge. I actually thought when I came over here that you were his boyfriend.”

Will rubbed his hand over his face. He’d made peace with the fact that was never going to happen. He had. “Sorry to disappoint. We’re just old college friends.”

“Chill! This is even better. You’re a private investigator. You can help me find Derek!” Glaceon stood up on the desk, knocking the paper coffee cup over. Thankfully, it was empty again.

“No. I can’t. I’m not that kind of P.I. I don’t find people. I don’t help people. I’m a fucking class traitor, okay? I help insurance companies prove claims are fake. I can’t help anyone.” Will turned and headed for the door to his bedroom. Glaceon could see himself out the same way he’d come in. Will needed to be alone.

“Chill.” Glaceon’s response was very quiet and so reminiscent of Nursey that Will almost broke down. He hadn’t realized that Pokémon picked up their partner’s linguistic quirks. How could he? None of the others he’d met had spoken English. 

“Hey, is that your kid?”

Will froze and tilted his head. There was only one picture Glaceon could be referring to. “No. Not my kid.”

“Chill. I didn’t want to slut shame you or anything, but I was calculating when that would have had to have happened and….” Glaceon trailed off. “So, is she a cousin or something? Why’s her picture by itself?”

Will sighed and turned back around, striding over to stand in front of the picture of a toddler with a cherubic smile and beautiful curls. “When I first started as a P.I., I worked with an established guy. It’s part of how the business works. I picked him because he did the kind of work I wanted to do. Finding missing kids, stuff like that. He had something like, I’m not sure, six? I think six pictures of kids in his office. The ones he’d gotten back alive. Most of the time when a kid is taken, it’s by a family member. If it’s not, if it’s the kind of case where the parents end up going to a P.I. because the cops aren’t finding anything, the chances of getting them home safe are super low. Twenty something years as a P.I., he’d saved six. When I was working with him, I got one, this one, home safe.” 

He turned around and looked at Glaceon. “That’s when I realized that I wasn’t going to actually make a difference in the world.”

Glaceon tilted his head. “You made a difference to that little girl and her family. And you could make a difference to Derek. Help me find him. I know we can save him, with your help. You saved that little girl in your first year. You know how slim those odds were.” 

Will met Glaceon’s gaze as it stared him down. Finally, he tore his eyes away and shook his head. If there was a chance that Nursey was in trouble and he could help, well, he’d never been able to stop himself from trying to protect, to help, Nursey. “Fine. Okay.”

“Chill.”


	3. Chapter 3

> [Flashback]  
> Dex recognized him immediately when the prospects met up at Faber. How could he not? Ten years may have passed, he may have grown into a man, but Derek Nurse was imprinted on his mind in the special way of childhood best friends. 
> 
> Especially ones that suddenly and without warning disappear from his life without so much as a reply to his letters saying to stop trying.
> 
> On the other hand, Nursey didn’t seem to recognize him at all. So when the nice guy that was talking to him, Chris, asked if he was going to sign with Samwell, Dex said he’d probably go to a state school. 
> 
> When he compared the scholarships, he ended up going to Samwell anyway. It would be fine. He’d probably just been remembering Nursey as better than he really was because of distance and time. 
> 
> Their first semester together proved his point. Nursey was annoying, self-absorbed, and yelled at him for every little thing he did wrong. 
> 
> He was also amazing and funny and made Dex want to be a better person. So, they were best friends again. And if Dex was falling in love with him every second that they were together? Well, at least this time he had the history to know not to think it would be reciprocated. 

* * *

“Why are we going to Nur-Derek’s place?”

Some of the other passengers on the subway glanced over briefly but looked away when Will glared at them. He couldn’t be the first person they’d heard talking to themselves on the train. He wouldn’t be the last.

“So that we can look for clues, of course. I tried when I was there before but….” Glaceon wiggled his head in a way that made his dangles sway back and forth. “No hands.”

“What clues are we going to find?”

“I’m not sure. But I was wearing a hoodie and a baseball cap. That’s classic undercover gear. He must be some kind of detective, too. Which means he probably has information about his case somewhere.”

“I don’t think Derek’s a detective.”

“He could be a detective.”

“He’s-”

”An Onix is blocking the tracks around Park Street Station. We apologize for the delay and will be moving again shortly.” The intercom interrupted Will as the train slowed to a stop.

“Look, he’s just not a detective.”

Glaceon turned to look out the window. “He could be a detective.” 

The words were barely audible and Will sighed in response before scrubbing a hand over his face. “Ayuh, sure. How are we going to get in?”

“Oh, leave that to me.”

* * *

When Glaceon opened the door to Derek’s condo, Will decided not to question it. If the cops showed up, he could honestly claim that the Glaceon who lived there had let him in. It might work. Probably not. He had an address in Eastie and looked like he was from Southie. The closest the cops would think he should be to Derek’s place was the Make Way For Psyducks statue across the street and even that might be pushing it.

Will gave the apartment a cursory look. There were still some drawers open and disheveled as well as fingerprint dust from the police. There were also a number of pictures of the two of them, or the three of them, throughout the condo. Just like Glaceon had said. 

“The cops probably took anything that might be useful.”

“Oh please. Cops miss stuff all the time. You start on the computer, I’ll check the bedroom and get some of my things.”

“Ayuh.” Will headed for the nook that housed Derek’s desk and laptop. “Wait, get your things?”

“Ch’yeah. I can’t stay here. The cops might come back and Diana will be here any day, probably.”

Will slowly lowered himself into Derek’s chair. He paused a moment to appreciate how comfortable it was before snapping back to the conversation. “That makes sense. Where’re you gonna go?” 

Glaceon made a noise that Will wasn’t sure should be possible. “With you. I’ll crash at your place until we find Derek.”

Will stared blankly at the laptop screen. He’d never wanted a Pokémon partner. He’d never intended to share his tiny apartment with anyone, human or otherwise. But he couldn’t really put Derek’s partner out on the streets.

“Hey, you need help with the password? It’s-”

“Rarelonelyspirits. I know.” Will tapped the password out, trying not to think about the first time Derek had confided in him that he was still using his password from Andover.

* * *

> [Flashback]  
> Dex glanced at the screen of the laptop and then back at his phone.
> 
> Dex: It’s password protected. I can try to crack it, or….  
> Nursey: rarelonelyspirits  
> Nursey: the essay is probably on the desktop  
> Nursey: saved as “faust is a bitch”  
> Dex: want me to upload it?  
> Nursey: just email it to me  
> Nursey: I need a print copy anyway  
> Nursey: then I can fix the name
> 
> -
> 
> Nursey tapped his fingers on the table impatiently. It wasn’t that he doubted Dex, it’s just that sometimes email took awhile to go through, and he was already pushing being able to get this paper turned in.
> 
> He just had to trust that Dex wouldn’t look at any of the other files on his computer. But there wasn’t any more danger there than in the myriad notebooks in their room. Dex wouldn’t invade his privacy like that. 
> 
> Or if he had, he was pretending not to know that nearly all of Nursey’s poetry was about him. Which was noble in its own way.
> 
> -
> 
> Dex cursed at Nursey’s desktop. He wasn’t sure how Nursey could find anything on his computer; it was as disorganized as his dresser. He didn’t want to pry, and he knew Nursey was on a deadline, so he glanced over the titles of Word documents as quickly as he could until he found the one labeled “Faust is a bitch”. Once it was dutifully emailed off, he quickly locked and closed Nursey’s laptop so that he wouldn’t be tempted to find out what the other documents were. 
> 
> Or to sort them into folders so that Nursey could access them more easily.
> 
> Instead, he turned to his own computer and pulled up a search engine. After a few minutes, he shut his down as well and went for a long walk. 
> 
> It was dark when he returned. Nursey was already in bed, so he quietly disrobed and climbed into his own bed. 
> 
> “Rare lonely spirits, even mine... will see the glory of your trailing line, the bedded beauty of your haunting lays.” 
> 
> He didn’t mean to murmur it in the dark. And if he had, he would have thought that it was without an audience.
> 
> “To a Poet. Been using it since Andover. Didn’t know you liked Claude McKay.”
> 
> “Neither did I.”

* * *

> [Flashback]  
> Gerard Campbell, Editor in Chief of the Boston Globe, met Derek Nurse on his first day at the newspaper and escorted him to his desk. The desk was already set up with a computer and stocked with any supplies that Derek might need. 
> 
> “You’re on Business and Finance. AP wires will pop up on your screen. Find something for an article. Welcome aboard.”
> 
> Derek took a deep breath and spoke up before he lost his nerve. “Actually, sir. I was hoping to do investigative reporting.”
> 
> Gerard stopped and turned back towards Derek’s desk. “And I was hoping that you’d spend three to six months making sure the coffee pot was full and transcribing handwritten notes, hoping to get a chance to move to-”
> 
> “Obituaries.” Derek may have rolled his eyes slightly, but he tried to keep it a small gesture that would go unnoticed.
> 
> “Hell, no. Elaine worked her ass off for years to get the obit desk. The rest of us worked our asses off for the first three to six months hoping to get moved to the back pages of the Society section. _You_ get to skip all that because your daddy owns the paper, or golfs with the owner, or I can’t remember what. But he said you’re in the Business section, so here you are.”
> 
> He stalked off before Derek could say anything else and then shut the door to his office forcefully, just shy of a slam. Derek sat blinking for a few moments. He hadn’t thought that bosses cussed on the job anymore. He was pretty sure that most places considered that creating a hostile work environment or something. Then again, it’s not like he was going to go to HR on his first day. 
> 
> A couple hours later, he’d managed to scope out the rest of the office and identify the reporters and editors and which sections they worked. So, when David, lead investigative reporter, got up for coffee, Derek dumped his coffee in the wastebasket and joined him for a refill. 
> 
> “I really liked your piece on Black Mothers and Babies.” That was it, smooth, chill, and nonchalant. 
> 
> David inclined his head in response and poured cream into his coffee.
> 
> “I actually applied here because I wanted to work with you. Wha-”
> 
> “Look kid. I heard what Gerry said and frankly. I agree. You should be learning the ropes, not being handed a byline. So, don’t think that you can butter me up and I’ll just hand over my articles to you.” His expression didn’t even change as he turned to head back to his desk.
> 
> Derek followed. “Chill. I’d never ask that. I was just hoping that maybe I could learn from you and if I brought a potential story to you that you thought had merit, maybe you could back me with Mr. Campbell.”
> 
> David snorted. “Yeah. Right. Like I said. You haven’t earned that.”
> 
> “Okay, chill. Then let me earn it. Mr. Campbell said I’d be transcribing notes. I’ll transcribe yours. Do your initial editing. Whatever it takes. That would help me learn some of the process, right?”
> 
> David finally stopped and actually turned to Derek, giving him an appraising look. “Fine. You can do my transcriptions and edits. Maybe. Maybe, if I think you are learning and can be taught, then maybe if you bring me a story that I think is worthwhile and that I think you are prepared to tell, I’ll back you with Mr. Campbell.”
> 
> Derek grinned. “Chill. Thanks.” He turned to go but stopped as David continued speaking. 
> 
> “And kid? Don’t ever waste coffee like that again. You want to speak to someone, grow a spine and just talk to them.”

* * *

> [Flashback]  
> Derek stood in the hospital corridor, Diana pressed to his side. 
> 
> “I don’t understand. I talked to them last week. They were fine. Mama was upset that she had a rash and couldn’t wear her new gown to some charity event because it had an exposed back. But she was fine.”
> 
> The doctor nodded politely. “We’ve had reports of a number of similar cases in the area. We’ve seen a few dozen ourselves. The rash seems to be the first symptom, but like your mother, most people ignore it or try to treat it with over the counter creams. Then breathing becomes labored and blood pressure skyrockets. This is when your parents sought treatment, which is good. This is still the early stages and by keeping them sedated in a medically induced coma, we can regulate the body processes more easily, avoiding pain and discomfort, and buying time while researchers develop a cure.”
> 
> “What? Is it like Swinub Flu?”
> 
> “It’s too soon to tell, Mr. Nurse. Just know that your parents are receiving the best possible care.”

* * *

Derek’s desktop was as much of a mess as it was back in college. Unlike last time, Will had no compunctions about sorting the files into folders to make them easier to filter through. Once he had sorted all the loose files, he opened the email program. He wasn’t really expecting it to be linked to anything, but he turned out to be wrong. That’s why he always checked even if he thought it was a long shot.

“You were wrong. Derek isn’t a detective.” He pitched his voice so that it would carry to the other room. 

Glaceon padded into the office area. “If I was wrong, then why do I have this snazzy deerstalker hat?” 

Will looked up to see that Glaceon was, indeed, wearing a deerstalker hat, along with a backpack, presumably full of his things. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know how Glaceon managed to get the backpack filled and on.

“Probably because Derek has no chill. But he isn’t a detective. He’s a reporter for the Globe.” Will clicked through a few more emails.

“An investigative reporter. That’s basically the same thing. He’s still an investigator.” Glaceon was on the other side of the desk and Will couldn’t see what he was doing.

“No. He worked the Business section. From what I can gather, his dad insisted because it was a respectable section to work on.” 

“Derek doesn’t care what his dad thinks. He’d be an investigative journalist.”

“Why d’you say that?”

“I’m his partner. I know these things.”

Will clicked on another email, this one from David Hassan. “He isn’t an investigative reporter, but he wants to be. Looks like he’s been doing grunt work for Hassan, the Globe’s lead investigative reporter, in exchange for Hassan backing him when he tried to pitch his own lead. A few weeks ago, Derek sent an angry email to Hassan about not backing him and Hassan responded that it wasn’t a story. Yet. Told him to keep working on it.” 

“Chill. Told you.”

Will clicked through a few more emails. “Campbell sent an email declining Derek’s pitch to investigate some mysterious illness that seems to be affecting New England and New York. Probably the one that Hassan said wasn’t a story.”

After that, all the emails were generic work-related information. Acknowledgements of birthdays, reminders of deadlines, sending transcribed notes. He switched to a web browser and pulled up Derek’s personal email. It didn’t take him long to find the message from Diana shortly before the email from Derek’s boss. 

“Oh damn. Derek’s parents are sick. That’s why he wanted to investigate.” Will sat back in the chair and stared at the screen. If he knew Derek, and he knew Derek, or at least he had, then Derek wouldn’t have let that go just because he was told no. 

“Hey, maybe you should just take the laptop? Because I think that I was wrong about when Diana was going to arrive.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Diana is across the street waiting to run over here.”

“Fuck.” Will scrambled to power down the laptop and gather it and the charge cord into the backpack he brought. He paused as he looked at the picture of the four of them at graduation. He wasn’t sure why, he had his own copy of the picture on his desk, but he swept it into the bag as well before rushing after Glaceon out a back door and into the alley. Just as he was closing the door behind them, he heard the key in the front door.

* * *

Will didn’t slow down or look back until they were in the middle of a group of tourists watching some squirtles play in the Politoed Pond in Boston Common. He didn’t relax until they were back in his apartment in Eastie. Once he collapsed onto his own couch, he finally breathed deeply again. 

Then he looked at his bag and saw Derek’s laptop. “I just stole from one of the richest families in the world.”

“Chill. You just borrowed it.”

“I stole it. In the eyes of Diana and the cops, I definitely just stole this laptop.” Will covered his face with his hands.

“Well, Diana will probably assume the cops took it and they’ll probably assume she took it. So, if we just find Derek quick, he’ll say that it was ok that you took it, and everything will be fine.”

“Will he though?” Will paused and blinked in shock. Not at the fact that he doubted whether or not Derek would forgive him for taking his laptop and invading his privacy. At the fact that he had responded as though certain they would find Derek alive and in a position to give or withhold forgiveness. 

He took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out slowly and allowing himself the slightest smile. 

He really believed that they could find and save Derek. 

Whether or not Derek would forgive him? That seemed a lot less important.

He moved over to his desk and cleared a space for the laptop. If Derek thought that his parents’ illness was mysterious or unique enough to warrant an investigation, there’s no way he would have dropped it. Which meant he definitely started gathering evidence and Will needed to find it to figure out where in Maine he was and why he was there and who might have taken him. 

Will paused to set up Derek’s copy of the picture of the four of them next to his own. The heavy silver frame of Derek’s made his own dollar store frame look shabby in comparison.


	4. Chapter 4

> [Flashback]  
>  Derek didn’t bother checking his work email. They wouldn’t help him and he’d turned in his leave of absence. David and Gerry didn’t think that people getting sick suddenly was a story. They were wrong. 
> 
> He’d overheard a conversation the last time he visited his parents. They were still in the comas. Still in about the same condition but expected to slowly deteriorate over time. Because one of the doctors had seen something similar before, years ago as a resident. Something much worse that affected a much smaller group of patients. But all of those patients died no matter what treatment was provided.
> 
> So, Derek was tracking down where that doctor did her residency. If people presented at her hospital with a mysterious illness, it had to have been recorded somewhere. Medical journals, local newspapers. Somewhere. 
> 
> It took longer than he liked to find the request for input. Fifteen years ago, a man presented at a hospital in Maine with a disease unlike anything anyone had seen before. Vitals and symptoms were listed and documented with photos. To Derek’s untrained eye, the case looked nothing like that of his parents. But he didn’t want to be an investigative reporter because he believed that first impressions and gut instincts were always right. 
> 
> He emailed the file and a copy of his parent’s file to Justin with a query as to if they were the same disease.

* * *

> [Flashback]  
>  By the time Justin called Derek to remind him that he was only an M3 and not at all qualified to make that determination, and also to say that he’d shown the information to his favorite professor and they were pretty sure that they were early and terminal stages of the same disease, Derek had found a list of other patients with similar symptoms to the first. 
> 
> Justin’s confirmation was not the news that he wanted to hear. None of the patients that he found from the earlier outbreak survived. From the notes that he found in medical journals and correspondences, none of them had even responded to treatment. Not that many of them had undergone much treatment. It seemed like they’d all been quietly discharged to hospice or home palliative care rather quickly at the families’ requests. Which didn’t make any sense at all. Derek couldn’t imagine taking his parents out of the hospital while they were sick if there was even the slightest chance a new treatment might be found to try.
> 
> Once the call ended, Derek returned to his search. Next phase, finding out what all the original patients had in common. 
> 
> The obituary for Antoine Fortin made him stop breathing for a moment. 
> 
> “Survived by his wife, Aimée, and their loving children, Michael and William.”
> 
> He’d picked that patient to look at first, not because he was the earliest case that Derek had found a record of, but because the name reminded him of his au pair from when he was young. His au pair and her younger son, his best friend. 
> 
> He finally remembered to breathe when his glaceon Pokémon partner nudged against his hand.

* * *

If Derek had started to investigate the illness, he had to have notes somewhere. Will opened one of the folders that he’d sorted files into at Derek’s house. The problem, he considered as he skimmed through file after file, was that Derek’s method of organization would not be called such by anyone else. 

Will’s earlier sort wasn’t even all that useful because there were spreadsheets titled “groceries” that held poems and word documents titled “taxes” that held recipes. Will tried to sort them better as he went through the files, while also skimming as little as possible to respect Derek’s privacy but not miss any important information about the investigation. It was complicated. And tiring. And at the end of several hours of work, Will had only discovered that Derek hadn’t saved any of his notes on his laptop. 

Will scooted his chair back and rested his forehead on the desk. True, he was used to dead ends on investigations. They happened all the time. But this was Derek. Nursey. If he wasn’t dead, then he was probably hurt, alone, scared. And Will was failing him.

“Coffee? Always gives me a second wind around this time of night.” Glaceon’s voice made Will sit up and look around the room for the first time in hours.

The room was a mess. All of his photos of Derek had been pulled over into a pile. And, ok. Glaceon was probably missing Derek. It made sense. Even if Will wasn’t sure how he could do that without hands. But the truly astonishing thing was the number of coffee cups scattered around the room. How did Glaceon even make the coffee?

“Okay, no more coffee. That much coffee cannot be healthy for you.” 

“What? I’m fine! It helps me focus.”

“Ayuh. You definitely spent too much time with Nursey.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that it’s three in the morning and it’s time for bed.”

“But Derek-”

“We can’t help him if we don’t get sleep. Listen. I want to keep going without rest, too. I want to find him, too. But I’ve been there, where you are finally about to find the person and you pushed yourself too hard to get there, and then your body will fail and you will fail the person.” Will stopped and took a deep breath. “I’m not going to fail Derek. I’m going to bed. Please don’t make, well, more of a mess of my apartment.”

* * *

Will didn’t sleep well. He slept like shit, if he was honest. But at least he’d rested. Thanks to Mythbusters, he knew it was better than nothing. He stretched his back and let out a jaw cracking yawn as he padded towards his coffee maker. Unfortunately, when he got there, the jar he kept his grounds in was empty.

He was certain that he’d refilled it only a few days ago. He looked around the room. It was...not spotless, but tidy. The photos were back, in the wrong spots, but generally where photos had been before. Every cup he owned was stacked in the sink. Glaceon was laying on the couch, looking at him.

“I thought you’d sleep longer, actually.”

“What happened?”

“What do you mean? Oh, Pokémon don’t sleep as much as humans do. So, I’ve been up for awhile. You said not to make a mess, so I cleaned up.”

Will stared at Glaceon. There’s no way he learned that from Nursey. Was there any chance that he’d managed to teach it to Nursey?

“Where’s my coffee?”

“Chill. I did drink that. Yeah. That did happen.”

Will nodded, then padded over to the cabinet above his fridge to pull out another container. He never used this stuff, but it was a desperate situation.

Glaceon gasped. “That’s Derek’s brand.”

“Ayuh.”

“You’ve been holding out on me.”

“Speaking of which. Why don’t you just tell me where Derek was and what he was doing in Maine?” Will fixed Glaceon with a stare while he ground the beans and pulled out the French Press. They weren’t the sort to put in a cheap coffee maker.

“I told you. I woke up with a bad case of the forgetsies all alone.”

“Yet, you know Derek’s password. You know his coffee brand.” Will raised his eyebrows.

“He was my partner. Of course, I know those things. That’s like knowing I’m a Glaceon. Or how to breathe ice.”

Will hummed in response and turned back to his coffee. He would just have to take Glaceon’s word for it. Surely, there was no reason to lie about the memory loss.

* * *

Will didn’t manage to catch a break until he went through the sent folder of Derek’s personal email. The case files that Derek had sent to Justin had been scrubbed of personally identifiable information for the patient, but there was enough information for Will to work with on tracking down who they were for. The newer files were easy to determine. The dates and the knowledge that Derek’s parents were sick meant that Will just needed to engage in a bit of social engineering and cybersleuthing to confirm his suspicion. 

The other one was more difficult. It was older. He didn’t have a reference for who it might be. The doctor’s name on the file matched that of the newer ones. A search told Will that the doctor was currently employed in one of the most prestigious hospitals in NYC but that her residency had occurred in Portland.

A few more setbacks, and a bit more time to get around them, and Will had the name of the patient in the older file. He pushed himself away from the computer and sat staring blankly at the screen.

“Hey, did you figure out what Derek was investigating?”

“Ayuh. My father.”


	5. Chapter 5

> [Flashback]  
> Derek told himself that he was just being thorough. There’d been such little information about Antoine: his obituary, a wedding announcement, a few articles from sports endeavors in high school. His obituary hadn’t even mentioned a place of work. And Derek knew that he hadn’t been in NYC with Billy when his mom was Derek’s au pair. Which meant that he must have been somewhere else, probably working. 
> 
> So, it just made sense to extend the search to Aimée and Michael and William before moving on to the next patient to search for clues. Whatever he’d expected to find, it wasn’t this. 
> 
> He stared at the archived newspaper page announcing the name change of Aimée Fortin to return to her maiden name Aimée Poindexter. 
> 
> Derek blinked and the page didn’t change. The date was only a short while after the obituary, so she must have started the process almost immediately after her husband’s death. 
> 
> Of course, there could be any number of reasons why Aimée wouldn’t want to be associated with her husband’s last name after his death. Many of them fit with her taking her children to NYC while he stayed in Maine. Most of them didn’t fit with her moving back with their children when he became ill. 
> 
> The part of Derek’s brain that wasn’t frozen made a mental note that this supported his theory that there was a story behind these illnesses.
> 
> The rest of his brain kept reading Aimée Fortin, Aimée Poindexter over and over. Name changes for minors don’t require a newspaper notification in Maine. Billy Fortin could have become Will Poindexter. 
> 
> Billy Fortin could be Dex.
> 
> Derek glanced at his phone. It could be resolved with a text. 
> 
> But what would he say after he confirmed it? Sorry I didn’t recognize you even as I fell in love with you again? I was investigating your dad’s death because I think he might be the key to saving my parents. Do you want to reopen old trauma to help me?
> 
> He shook his head. He had to focus on helping his parents first. Once a cure was found, then he could text Dex and see if it made any difference to him that they’d been childhood best friends.

* * *

> [Flashback]  
> The back channels that Derek used to figure out where Antoine Fortin had been working weren’t necessarily technically legal. He supposed that’s what made them back channels rather than regular channels. But he wasn’t a cop trying to maintain a clean arrest so that the charges wouldn’t be dropped. He wasn’t even a journalist trying to find a clean story to run. He was a guy trying to find information to save his parents. So he used the back channels and assured himself that he was ok with going to prison over it if it saved his parents’ lives.
> 
> The result was an employee list from Pharmetrix. The really interesting thing about the list was that, not only was Antoine Fortin listed as a maintenance worker, every other person who died from the original outbreak of the illness was also on the list. They were all janitors, maintenance workers, cooks. Blue collar workers. None of the biologists, geneticists, chemists, biochemists, or even research assistants appeared on the patient list.
> 
> Derek tapped his fingers against the desk twice. A quick search revealed that Pharmetrix produced Semiva, along with other medications. He was pretty sure that Semiva was one of the medications that his parents had been taking for allergies. It was new and very popular. He was starting to get a feeling in his jellies that all the other new patients were probably taking a Pharmetrix medication as well.
> 
> Pharmetrix was clearly the common link. The next step was to get the property records and figure out where the facility was located. 

* * *

> [Flashback]  
> Derek frowned at the screen. He knew the Pharmetrix facility in Maine had to be a major facility for the company. There were too many names on the employee list for it to be a minor distribution hub or something. It had more staff assigned to it than he could find attributed to any other location. But their website didn’t mention it at all. Pictures of clean rooms and smiling researchers were all attributed to the location in upstate New York. 
> 
> The public face of Pharmetrix seemed to indicate that the facility in Maine didn’t exist and never had. Which meant that it was well past time for someone to strap on a bodycam and go take a look. 
> 
> “So. We get the blueprints and any information we can on the facility through the back channels. We strap ourselves with as much recording equipment as possible, and we go see if there’s any information to be found in Maine.” 
> 
> He stared at Glaceon. Glaceon stared back and nodded its head. 
> 
> With that settled, it was time to follow through on the plan of action. Derek saved all his files onto a flashdrive and slid it into his preferred hiding spot, pausing only for a moment to remember passing “secret codes” to Billy using the same mechanism. 
> 
> He turned the picture frame back over and looked at the image from graduation. If Dex was Billy, then if anything happened to Derek during the investigation, at least Dex would find the information and be able to help Derek’s parents.

* * *

Will shoved his hands into his hair and tugged as he strode across the room, then turned and strode back the other way. There was no reason for Derek to be looking into his dad’s death. Derek didn’t even know who Will was. It made no sense. It made no sense. It made no s-

“You know, they say that leads to premature baldness.”

Will stopped pacing and turned to look at Glaceon. “What?”

“Pulling your hair. They say it leads to premature baldness.”

“No. I mean, if you pull the hair out, sure. But that’s related to… You know what. Never mind.”

“You seem stressed. Do you want to touch my butt?”

“What?!”

“Like therapy Stoutlands.”

Will blinked. “Are you offering to let me pet you?”

“Yeah, that’s the word.” Glaceon bumped his head against Will’s leg. “Sit down. You can’t reach from up there.”

“I’m not touching your butt. You’ve definitely spent too much time with Derek.” Even as he was saying it, he lowered himself onto the floor until he was leaning against a wall and had his legs stretched out in front of him. 

Glaceon stretched across his lap. “You know it would make you feel better.” 

It was probably best to just disengage. 

“Ok, so. Let’s think of this logically. No reply from Justin, but he wouldn’t ignore a question from a former teammate, especially with how close Derek and Adam are. So, he either texted or called with the reply. If the answer was ‘No, these cases are completely different.’ then he probably would have just emailed the response. I can text Justin to verify, but we can probably assume that Derek’s parents have the same thing that killed my dad.”

“Oh, sweet prince, that’s not good.” 

Will’s fingers ran over the top of Glaceon’s head gently. “No. It’s really not. I don’t remember a lot because I was pretty young, but. Yeah. It’s not good.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Ok. So, he probably just grabbed my dad’s file because it was an unknown disease handled by the same doctor. He didn’t remember me at Samwell. He still doesn’t remember who I used to be. His childhood best friend was some prince he met after I moved back to Maine and it doesn’t matter!”

Will stopped and counted his breathing for a few moments. 

“Who the fuck cares that he didn’t remember me? The important thing is finding him now and then he can do whatever he wants. Just. Just gotta keep him alive. Ok. Focus, Poindexter. What would be his next step once he confirmed that the disease would ultimately lead to shitty, horrible death if they didn’t figure it out?” 

He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. “Try to figure out if anyone else had it and then what they all had in common. Which would lead to Pharmetrix. Fu-uck.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Not having his notes is a major disadvantage. If he’s going after Pharmetrix, he’s in real danger.”

“What if he did know it was your dad?”

“What?”

“You said that he didn’t remember you and ok, maybe he didn’t realize you were you or whatever you were talking about. But what if he knew your dad was your dad? And that’s why he used that case to check with Justin?”

Will blinked. “If he did remember. If he was thinking about me from back then…” 

His eyes slid over to the silver framed picture on his desk. He nudged at Glaceon to move and then stood up. “His family had a lot of picture frames like this. We used to play a game that involved passing secret messages and we found that the frames had a spot in them perfect for a rolled-up message. Sometimes a small candy or something.” 

He ran a finger over Derek’s face before turning the frame over and opening the back. He stared for a moment, barely breathing. Just like when he was a kid, a secret message. This time in the form of a small flashdrive. “He did remember me.”


	6. Chapter 6

> [Flashback]  
>  Derek pressed his back against the wall and tried to breathe quietly. Glaceon was shaking slightly against his legs, and it couldn’t be because of the cold. He couldn’t even reassure his partner because the guard might hear him. Because of course there were guards. The facility might not be active, but there was still plenty of equipment. Plenty of evidence. Plenty of reasons to try to keep people like him from finding out what they had done. 
> 
> He swallowed hard. There was almost no chance that they would make it out without being seen, and probably captured. Which meant he needed to get the evidence that he’d collected somewhere that they wouldn’t find it and destroy it. Somewhere Dex could find it. Then he just had to hope Dex would also find him. 
> 
> Glaceon bumped his head against Derek’s leg. He stared down at the Pokémon for a moment before shaking his head. There was no way Glaceon would leave him; putting the evidence on his partner wouldn’t actually keep it safe. 
> 
> But if Dex found the flashdrive, then that meant he remembered their childhood games as well. And if Dex remembered their childhood games, then Dex would know where to look for things that Derek left him. He nodded firmly to himself and eased quietly along the wall away from the guard.
> 
> Once his recordings were safely stashed, Derek crept as far towards the exit as he could without being seen. He nearly made it. He was so close. 
> 
> He wasn’t close enough. 
> 
> He hesitated for a moment when he heard the guard yell. Staying alive until someone came after him was the goal, after all. Then the energy blast from the guard’s Clawitzer knocked a goal size hole in the wall and he hit the door at a sprint.
> 
> The door shattered behind him, the force of the blast pushing him towards the woods and Glaceon darting back and forth in front of him. They made it to the tree line before another blast hit a tree beside them. He dodged to the side and tried to think of which direction he was headed and where he might find safety.
> 
> It was hard to think while sucking air. He’d only been running a few minutes and a stitch was already forming in his side. He shouldn’t be this winded. Seventeen months ago, he was a first line D1 athlete and ran daily. 
> 
> Just never in life or death situations.
> 
> His foot slipped in the leafy litter as he dodged around a tree. He turned sharply as a boulder exploded beside him. He wasn’t sure where they were going, but Glaceon bumped against his leg and then pulled back in front of him, so he focused on following his partner. The Pokémon probably knew where to go. They’d get out of this. They’d make it. He would just have to get officials to come back up here and find the evidence he’d gathered. His parents could be saved.
> 
> Glaceon jumped over a log.
> 
> He almost jumped over a log. His foot caught and he fell hard. A blast barely missed him as he fell, and splintered a tree, pinning him under branches and debris. Glaceon looked down at him and he tried to tell his partner to keep running, but he couldn’t get the words to form as his vision started to darken. 

* * *

Will drummed his fingers on the armrest of his seat. The train was getting them to Portland as fast as possible and once there, he could borrow a car from his uncle. Which would at least allow him to be doing something. He was doing something. He was getting to Portland as fast as he could. But it felt a lot like sitting around doing nothing, so his adrenaline wasn’t satisfied with the actions he was taking. Because Derek had found out about Pharmetrix and Derek had plans for their facility in Maine and Glaceon had woken up somewhere in Maine and Derek had clearly decided to go investigate Pharmetrix alone with his Pokémon partner and Derek was missing. And Derek was missing. And Pharmetrix didn’t care if they caused deaths. _And Derek was missing._

He gripped the armrest and took a deep breath. Two and a half hours on the train and then they would get the car and he could go try to find Derek. He checked the time even though it couldn’t have been more than five or ten minutes since the last time he looked. 

The only warning he got was a slurping sound and a weird odor, then the entire side of his face was wet and pulled by a Lickitung’s tongue. He grimaced, but there wasn’t much he could do at this point.

“Hey pal. You wanna lay off slipping my friend the tongue without consent?” 

Will waved them both off and stood up, keeping the eye closed on the side of the face that was just licked in case any Lickitung spit might drip in. “Is this Lickitung with anyone? Can someone please get their Lickitung?” No one so much as turned at his question, but he pushed through to the little bathroom anyway to rinse off his face before the spit caused a rash.

When he got back to his seat, Glaceon still seemed riled up. It made sense, Will wasn’t the only one stuck waiting and worrying. He sat down and ran a hand over Glaceon’s back. 

“Hey, we’re gonna get him, ok?” 

Glaceon didn’t respond, so Will kept a comforting hand on him and used the other to pull up a maps app and plot the safest and fastest route to the facility. Once he had the route memorized, he went over supplies and plans in his head again. He was pretty sure they’d thought of everything, but it didn’t hurt to double, or triple, or octuple check. 

Somehow, in the midst of the checks and rechecks, they managed to make it to Portland. Will didn’t wait for other passengers to disembark first, like he usually did. Instead, he used his size to help get him toward the front of the crowd, Glaceon close by his side. Once they were on the platform, the crowd wasn’t quite as close, but a man in an expensive suit suddenly tripped over air in front of him. 

Will only managed to avoid colliding with the man as he fell thanks to years of hockey, the year and change since graduation only dulling the reflexes slightly. He was torn between slowing to help or hurrying to get to his uncle’s car. Unfortunately, the man seemed to think that was an indication of guilt.

“You trip me, you little bastard? Security! Pick my pockets will you.” 

Will rolled his eyes.

“Oh? You wanna go? Let’s go, pal.” Glaceon seemed to be more upset by the accusation than Will was. He squared his shoulders and lowered his head.

Will wasn’t sure, but he thought it was an attack position. The last thing they needed was to be taken in by security or the cops because Glaceon attacked a man wearing a watch that looked like it cost more than Will’s uncle’s car.

“I never touched you, sir. You seem to have tripped over something. I was going to check that you were ok, but I’m sure that security will be happy to call an ambulance for you and to show you the security tapes. Good day. Come on, Glaceon. We have places to be.” 

He didn’t stop to look back and see what the man might say. He didn’t stop to see if Glaceon followed him. He was pretty sure Glaceon would follow. They were both worried about Derek, after all.

Luckily, no one followed him other than Glaceon and they were able to get the car and get on the road. Weirdly, Glaceon kept grunting in the back seat and every time Will looked in the rearview mirror, he was making a face. 

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to make the diamond dust flurry.”

“You’re trying to lower the temperature to -75 degrees fahrenheit while in a small enclosed space with me?”

“Chyeah. I don’t understand why it’s not-”

“You know that would kill me, right? You understand that you are trying to kill me while I’m driving a car with you in it? While we are going to try to rescue Derek?”

There was a pause. “I could probably wait to figure this out.”

“Thank you.”

The car was quiet for a few minutes, the only sound the road noise. Then. “Hey, can you turn on some music? I do better in vehicles if I listen to ATCQ.” 

Will sighed but reached over for his phone to set it to his Nursey playlist. “How do you even know that? You don’t remember anything from before a few days ago.”

“I can just feel it in my jellies.” 

“Ayuh. Sure.”

The rest of the trip was a blur of worry and reminding himself to focus on his driving so that they could arrive safely. Driving right up to the gates was out of the question, so he pulled off onto an old forestry road that he’d found marked online and they hiked the rest of the way in. 

The facility was deserted. Will didn’t think that meant there was no security, but anything of value that might once have been in the building had been ripped out and carted off. He was pretty sure it wasn’t from scavengers trying to find copper wiring to sell, either. 

“What’s the likelihood that this is what Derek found and they disappeared him for this?”

Glaceon waggled his dangles and Will agreed. It seemed unlikely, but knowing Pharmetrix, it wasn’t actually out of the question.

“Let’s assume he actually found something.”

“Ch’yeah. Of course, he did. He’s a good detective.”

“Investigative reporter.”

“Same thing.”

Will didn’t bother arguing the point. If Derek had found evidence and thought he might get caught, he’d have hidden it somewhere. Either so he could go back and get it when it was safer, or so that someone else could find it and use it where he failed. And since his notes had confirmed that he knew Will was his childhood friend, there was a good chance he’d use their old tricks again. That he’d put the evidence someplace specifically for Will to find it. 

Will wasn’t going to let him down on that. 

Finding where Derek had hidden the evidence wasn’t that difficult. Luckily, it seemed untouched.

“Pretty sure that Derek’s not here. We should get someplace safe and see if this will give us any clues to find him.” Will cursed under his breath. He hated leaving the compound without Derek safely with him, but he didn’t see any way that Derek was being held at this location. 

“Chyeah. I’m not leaving here without him. He’s my partner.”

“He was my partner, too!” Will glared at Glaceon for a moment before turning away and cursing again. “You think I want to leave without him? He’s not here. He’s not here.” 

They did another sweep through the buildings to reassure themselves, to reassure Will, that they hadn’t missed anywhere that Derek could be held. Unfortunately, that meant they were on the far side of the compound, away from the car, when they finally ran into a security patrol. 

The Cacnea didn’t hesitate before shooting spines at them and they had to dive for cover. Will looked at the exit and back at Glaceon before opening his mouth.

“No! I’m not losing another partner here. You are not going to cover me. _I_ got this.” Glaceon glared at him for half a second then stepped out of the cover and hunched his shoulders. 

Goosebumps raised on Will’s skin and he shivered as the temperature dropped before suddenly a storm of ice shards flew off of Glaceon’s body and towards the Cacnea.

“Chill! It worked!”

“Ayuh. But the alarm is going off now, so let’s go!” Will scooped Glaceon into his arms as he took off running towards the exit and the woods beyond it. 

Luckily, they managed to get a large enough head start from any other security patrols that they evaded pursuit. After sprinting a good bit, Will slowed to a lope, with a small pause to put Glaceon down after he complained that his legs worked fine. When they reached a stream and found a shallow cave, it seemed as good a place as any to hide out for a bit and look at the evidence before circling back around for the car.

* * *

> [Flashback]  
>  Derek started transferring files before even opening any of them. Getting the data and the evidence was more important than knowing about it right away. Once the transfer was in process, he started skimming the files, eager to see if he was right about the evidence they would contain.
> 
> Starting with the ones with the highest security requirements seemed like the best move. The first file told him that one of the executives who’d worked at the facility spent company time shopping for yachts. The second file was a lot more interesting.
> 
> Apparently, Pharmetrix had managed to find a Mewtwo. And promptly imprisoned him and started siphoning DNA to manufacture medicine.
> 
> “There’s no way that would get FDA approval.” Derek narrowed his eyes.
> 
> They had to be planning something to get around that. He started skimming files faster, quickly learning that they were performing unauthorized (and illegal) clinical trials on captive Pokémon . 
> 
> “How did they think they’d get away with this?” He paused and considered. They had gotten away with it, so apparently through application of money. “Ok, but even if they were making medicine from Mewtwo’s DNA, would that alone make people sick? Then why would the workers have gotten sick?”
> 
> He shook his head sharply and started skimming again. Talking to Glaceon wasn’t answering any questions. He had to read the email three times before his brain would accept what he was reading. He covered his mouth and tried to will himself not to be sick. 
> 
> He knew, of course he knew, that people used to eat Pokémon. That some, like Farfetched, were hunted to near extinction because of it. That with enough money a person could still get illegal Pokémon meat pretty much anywhere. 
> 
> None of that knowledge prepared him for reading the director of the facility advising that Pokémon that died during the clinical trials should be given to the lower canteen for processing. That the non-salary employees would be grateful for the protein source. 
> 
> Derek looked down at Glaceon in horror. He was no doctor or biochemist, but he was starting to suspect he had an idea of how all the blue-collar workers ended up dying horrific deaths fifteen years ago.
> 
> A message popped up on the terminal saying the file transfer was complete. Derek managed to get himself together enough to retrieve the data. Just in time, as he heard a foot step in the hallway just outside the room they were in. He pressed his back against the wall and Glaceon crowded in close. 
> 
> Two priorities, keep the evidence safe, get out alive. He could do this.


	7. Chapter 7

> [Flashback]  
> Derek grinned out from his hiding place in the front closet as the door opened. Billy briefly glanced over his shoulder before climbing in next to Derek and closing the door. 
> 
> “You got my message.”
> 
> “Ayuh. What are we hiding for?”
> 
> “They want me to go to some _event_.”
> 
> “Event?”
> 
> “Ballet or opera, I think.”
> 
> “Oh. Gotta dress up.”
> 
> Derek made a face even though Billy wouldn’t see it in the dark. They both knew he hated dressing up. Or sitting still. Or any of the things he was supposed to do at _events_. 
> 
> “When we’re older, we won’t have to dress up. Not unless we want to.”
> 
> Billy didn’t reply for a moment. Billy didn’t really ever have to dress up. He didn’t go to _events_. “What about when you get married?”
> 
> “I’ll just marry you. You’d never make me dress up. Or you’d let me dress up however I wanted.”
> 
> There was a pause. “Anyone you marry would probably let you dress however you wanted. Don’t gotta be me.”
> 
> “Don’t wanna marry anyone else.”
> 
> Billy made a noise of disbelief.
> 
> “Really, Billy. I want to be with you forever. You’re always gonna be my best friend. I love you.”
> 
> Billy’s hand slipped into his in the dark and the reply was barely a whisper. “Ok.” 

* * *

> [Flashback]  
> Derek glared at his computer. It wasn’t providing the information that he wanted. Which was rude. Apparently, “Billy” and “Amy” and “Maine” weren’t clear enough to give him the right results. 
> 
> He was running out of options. 
> 
> It wasn’t fair, honestly. Thanks to school, he was finally really close to the border of Maine. He made friends with a senior who would drive him up. He just needed to know where to go, and he couldn’t figure out where Billy might be.
> 
> He called his mother.
> 
> “Mama. What was the name of my au pair before Esmé?”
> 
> “Derek?”
> 
> “Yes, Mama?”
> 
> “Why are you asking about the help? Is this about that little boy again? I told you to forget him.”
> 
> Derek swallowed hard. Years ago, she had lectured him at length about the proper social distance between classes, between the Nurses and their help, when he’d asked if Billy had sent him any letters. 
> 
> She never actually denied that Billy had sent the letters. 
> 
> He never got them. 
> 
> “No, Mama. It’s for a paper for school.”
> 
> Dr Nurse sighed softly into the phone, a parent put out by the undue demands of her child’s education. “I don’t see why they can’t just let you refer to her by title. Very well. Aimée Fortin.”
> 
> “Thank you, Mama.”
> 
> “And Derek?”
> 
> “Yes?”
> 
> “Send me the paper when you’ve completed it. I’d like to keep up with your progress in school.”
> 
> “Of course, Mama.”
> 
> “I love you, dearheart.”
> 
> “I love you, too.”
> 
> Once he was off the phone, he pulled up a white pages site and entered “Amy Fortin” and “Maine.” No results. 
> 
> “How goes it, little brah? Ready to head to Maine and find your long lost biffle?” Shitty didn’t bother knocking. He never did. 
> 
> “I can’t find an address. It’s been four years. They probably moved or something.” 
> 
> “I’m sorry, man.”
> 
> “Nah. It’s chill. It was always a long shot.” Derek pasted on a smile. At least now he knew Billy’s last name. Fortin. Like Prince Fortinbras in Hamlet. Maybe like the Prince he’d show up again. Derek would just have to avoid being poisoned before then. 
> 
> That seemed doable.

* * *

Will stared at Glaceon after they’d reviewed a few of the files that Derek had managed to transfer over. 

“They have no ethics or morals at all. I mean, I knew that because of what happened with my dad. But. Damn.” 

Will shook his head and looked towards the cave entrance. 

“Think they’ve given up and we can circle around to the car?”

“Ch’yeah. Let’s blow this place and go home. Then we can figure out where Derek is.” 

“Yeah. Then we can figure out where Derek is.” 

He was pretty sure they were in the clear from pursuit. But, if there was one thing Will had learned, it was that pretty sure wasn’t the same thing as sure, so they crept carefully through the woods, keeping a look out for pursuing guards, human or Pokémon. 

They, somehow, neglected to track above them. 

“Good, you have brought him as promised.” 

Will did not have a heart attack as he felt Mewtwo’s voice in his brain. He didn’t. He might have jumped a bit and thrown himself between the godlike Pokémon and Glaceon, but he definitely did not have a heart attack. 

Glaceon bumped into him, pushing him out of the way. “Chill, I’m the one with powers. I defend you. Didn’t you see me against that Cacnea?”

Will spared a glance at Glaceon and then tried to push him back to safety again. “A Cacnea is not Mewtwo.”

“Wait. Do you still not believe in me?”

“Is this the time?” 

“You have fulfilled our bargain…” Mewtwo’s voice was sounding through Will’s brain again, but it trailed off. “Quick! Run! They have found y-.” The voice broke off with a mental cry of anguish.

Will didn’t pause to worry about the cry. If something could make a Pokémon like Mewtwo scream in pain, he didn’t want to know what it could do to him and Glaceon and he didn’t plan to stick around and find out. Mewtwo told them to run and he did just that. 

Whatever Mewtwo did after they left must have kept the pursuit busy, because no one seemed to have followed them when they reached the car. They were spraying dirt getting back to the main road before Will paused to feel bad about leaving Mewtwo. 

“He told us to run.”

“Ch’yeah. He did.”

“They won’t kill him. They were using his DNA to make medicines.”

“They were.”

Will looked at Glaceon. “We’ve got to save him, too.”

“Ch’yeah. Probably take him wherever they got Derek anyway.”

“Right. We’ll save them both.” Will nodded and focused on the road. They needed to get back to Boston.


	8. Chapter 8

> [Flashback]  
>  “-my husband is dying, and you come to me with this? I can’t even tell my children why their father is dead. or you’ll take away e-” 
> 
> Billy wasn’t supposed to be in the house when the people from Dad’s work were there. He and Mike were supposed to stay outside playing or go to a neighbor’s house. But they’d been playing outside, and he needed to use the restroom, and the neighbor’s dog scared him, so he didn’t want to ask if he could use theirs.
> 
> Ma was always upset after the people from Dad’s work visited. Billy knew he was supposed to be upset about Dad being sick and in the hospital. And he was. It wasn’t easy to see his dad like that, to feel helpless and small. But he felt helpless and small a lot. And his dad worked at the facility while they were in New York, so it didn’t really feel real. 
> 
> But his ma. She was real. She was the realest person he knew, except for maybe Derek. And his ma was angry. His ma was beyond angry. 
> 
> So, Billy pressed against the wall instead of passing the den.
> 
> “Mrs. Fortin, the agreement is more than generous. Your husband’s medical bills will be taken care of. Your children won’t be homeless or starve because you will have a pension. None of you will have to go through a lengthy court case where our lawyers will prove that your husband caused his own illness through negligent or intentional disregard for safety protocols.”
> 
> “How dare-”
> 
> “It has not failed to escape our notice that none of our biochemist and other trained staff who deal directly with chemicals have fallen ill as your husband has, Mrs. Fortin.”
> 
> The silence stretched out and Billy tried to hold his breath, convinced that if he breathed then they would hear him, and he’d be in trouble. Finally, there was a sound of pen scratching on paper.
> 
> “Get out of my house.”
> 
> “You made the right choice, Mrs. Fortin. In time, you’ll und-”
> 
> “Get. Out.”
> 
> Billy quickly tiptoed back to the back door and slipped through before the adults could see him.

* * *

The car ride back to Portland and the train back to Boston gave them time to plan. It was a pretty simple plan. Get the FBI to raid Pharmetrix, use that as a cover to sneak in and rescue Mewtwo and Derek. The rescues didn’t necessarily have to be in that order but having a godlike Pokémon to help would definitely make it easier to rescue Derek.

“Chill. So we go to the FBI office in Boston and give them the evidence.”

“We absolutely do not do that.”

Glaceon narrowed his eyes at Will but Will was unphased.

“You just said-”

“I know what I just said. But if we go to the FBI there is exactly zero chance that they let us out of their sight before or during their raid and there’s no guarantee that they’d actually act on the evidence.”

“Then how do we get the FBI to raid Pharmetrix, Will? Wishes and fairy dust?”

“We have someone they would trust take the evidence to them.”

“What...No. Will. Chill. You can’t give away Derek’s byline.”

Will swallowed and looked away. “To save his life? Yeah. I can.”

* * *

“Mr. Hassan. A moment of your time please.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t have time for autographs right now. I have an important meeting.”

“You promised Derek Nurse that you would back him on a story about the recent disease outbreak if he had evidence. What if I can give you his evidence?”

David Hassan finally slowed and turned to look at Will. 

“Yeah, David. What if we have Derek’s evidence?”

“Is that Nurse’s partner? He always had him wearing those silly little hats.”

“Ayuh.” Will held up a flash drive. “And this is his evidence. It’s more than enough for a story. It’s enough to take to the FBI.”

Hassan studied his face. “Why not go to the FBI yourself if this is legit?”

Will licked his lips and looked away. “The disease that Derek was investigating? It’s the same disease that killed my father fifteen years ago. When I was seven, I overheard the company that caused it pressuring my mother into an NDA. If they find out I went to the FBI, they’ll think she broke the agreement.”

Hassan took the drive but continued to study him. “Justice for your father? That why you chased me down in the parking garage? With Derek Nurse’s Pokémon partner? To give me a drive that ostensibly has evidence that Nurse found? What’s the connection there?”

“Derek and I played hockey together at Samwell. We were d-line partners. When Derek went missing, I looked after his partner and helped his family go through some of his things. That’s how I found his notes and the evidence that he collected. What’s on that drive.” Will returned Hassan’s gaze earnestly. Everything he’d said was the truth. Some version of the truth. 

“Fine. I’ll look at it and if it seems legit, I’ll contact the FBI.” 

Before Hassan could turn and walk off again, Will pulled a card out of his pocket. “Obviously, I’d like to be a confidential source on this, but when you call the FBI, could you let me know? Justice for my father, and all.”

“Private Investigator?”

“Just insurance stuff. Making sure no one’s committing fraud.”

“Uh huh.”

Hassan turned and strode off, so Will let out a breath and headed back out of the garage.

“Why’d you give him the card?”

“Because he’ll want to verify that I was Derek’s line partner. He’ll verify that while I did missing kids stuff during my apprenticeship, all I do now is insurance stuff and cheating spouses. He will trust me more for not mentioning the cheating spouses thing. And that will all hopefully keep him from calling Diana to confirm that I was helping with Derek’s stuff.”

“Chill. But you know he’s not going to call you.”

“Oh, of course he’s not. Even if he did, that wouldn’t tell us when the raid would happen. No. He’s going to lose that card about two seconds after he decides that I’m legit.”

* * *

If anyone had consulted Will, he would have told them that Boston was a stupid place to put a secret facility to house your illegal pharmaceutical experiments in. He would have told them that if they had to have a secret facility in Boston, that having said facility in a warehouse on the docks would be cliché and trite. 

No one from Pharmetrix had consulted Will. 

Will pulled back to be fully covered by the shipping container. He took a deep breath to steel himself for the argument he was about to have. 

“I’ll go in and get Mewtwo and Derek. You stay here and guard our escape.”

The response didn’t come right away. 

“Chill.”

“Chill?” Will definitely expected Glaceon to insist on going in with him.

“Figure you have a reason to ask that.”

“Yeah. It’s...I’m gonna use a pretty standard P.I.-spy trick to get in, but all the Pokémon are coming out, not going in. And they’re sedated and in cages. It would be pretty difficult to get people to ignore a Glaceon walking into the building.”

“Ok. Chill. I’ll keep watch out here and if they bring Derek or Mewtwo out, I’ll grab them.”

“You trust me on this?”

Glaceon finally turned and looked at Will. “Yeah. I finally figured out what I was feeling from you.”

His gaze was piercing, pinning Will in place. Will swallowed. “Yeah. Ok.” 

A mutual nod and Glaceon turned his gaze back on the exterior of the facility while Will pulled on a pair of coveralls that were pretty close to some of the ones the workers were wearing as they tried to coordinate removing chemicals and Pokémon and data from the facility to be shipped who knows where. Once he was dressed, he strapped on a toolbelt and shoved the bag that he’d used to carry them into one of the pouches. He pulled a cut down cigarette from a pocket and lit it before creeping around to the side of the building.

Pretending to smoke was a skill. It was an art. And it was the best excuse he’d found to be somewhere he shouldn’t be. Everyone expects smokers to take an extra break when they can manage it or to hang out in the cold or bad weather.

So, when Will approached the busy workers from the dark side of the building, he waited to be sure they saw him remove the cigarette from his mouth before he tossed it on the ground and rubbed it out with his boot. Several of the workers rolled their eyes and one or two gave him a half nod of understanding. One actually decided to call him on it. Perfect.

“Hey! What part of alert do you not understand? Get your ass in gear.” 

Will gave the guy a tight smile. He recognized the type. Someone who thrived on having power, real or perceived, over others and was used to people being intimidated by him. He stood in Will’s way, trying to force Will to stop or go around him. Instead, Will bumped into him, knocking him out of his path and allowing Will the chance to palm the guy’s security badge on his way to the door. 

The guy spluttered at him and he turned slightly to give a small salute while continuing on. It would have been preferable if no one had gotten a real good look at him, but if things went well, it wouldn’t really matter anyway. 

Will strode through the corridors with a purposeful, confident step. People rarely question someone who looks like they know where they are going. Thanks to Derek’s notes, Will actually did have a pretty good idea of where he was going. Or rather, where the most secure sections of the facility were and, therefore, where he expected to find Mewtwo and Derek.

Honestly, it went nearly too well. He’d expected the workers to all be confused and focused on relocating everything in light of the FBI raids on the public facilities. He’d expected that with everyone trying to pack everything up, there’d be fewer people in the deeper parts of the facility. He hadn’t actually expected every single one of his ruses to work without question or suspicion. 

And yet, only a few minutes after leaving Glaceon, he was standing in front of a containment unit holding Mewtwo in stasis. Even the password on the control console wasn’t that difficult to crack with the tools that he brought with him. 

What he did not expect was for Mewtwo to be wicked pissed when he was released.

The plan involved Will taking a couple of seconds to speak with Mewtwo, seeing if he had any lead on where to find Derek, and then escaping from the facility with Derek and Mewtwo. Instead, Mewtwo burst out of his containment unit and then through the ceiling, sending pulses of energy out at the equipment that had held him. 

“Ok. Good talk. Wicked useful. I’ll just...find Derek on my own then.”

Will started combing through the secure areas. He did not find Derek. Mewtwo was still blasting things, and some of the workers must have been fighting back, or maybe Mewtwo revived the other Pokémon because there was a lot of noise, and the building seemed to be losing structural integrity. And a number of small fires had started. 

Will cursed but kept checking rooms until he’d completely cleared the entire area. He did not find Derek. Well, Mewtwo was a god and a psychic Pokémon. It couldn’t hurt to ask. 

“Mewtwo! Where is Derek?” He tried to picture Derek clearly in his mind, remembering the photo on his desk. 

Mewtwo’s reply formed in his mind. “He is not here. Get yourself to safety and I will meet you.”

For someone who had exploded out of his containment and started a one Pokémon demolition derby, Mewtwo sounded extremely calm in Will’s head. But also. “Woulda been wicked helpful to know that fifteen minutes ago. But thanks.”

Getting out of the building was even easier than getting in because absolutely no one was paying attention to what any of the other humans were doing. Glaceon met him outside the door and they managed to get away from the docks without anyone caring. Or maybe Glaceon was freezing anyone that got too close. Will didn’t check. Will paused by the Murphy Memorial Skating Rink and removed his toolbelt and the coveralls, packing them back into the duffle and slinging it on his back. They didn’t stay long, continuing to walk the blocks down to Medal of Honor Park. It seemed like a good spot to meet Mewtwo. Pretty open and the 7 bus picked up right there once Will knew what their next steps would be.

They didn’t have to wait long. 

“Why did you free me, human?”

“Because it was the right thing to do?” Will was confused by the question. “It’s like. Ok, those guys were using you to make unethical medicines that are actually hurting a lot of people and will eventually kill them. But hopefully the FBI is putting an end to that and the CDC or whoever will figure out a cure for the disease they started. And then,” he paused with a gesture, “you freaking saved us back in Maine, letting yourself get captured so we could get away. But even if none of that was true, Pokémon are sapient beings and shouldn’t be held against their will or drugged up or used in unethical experiments.”

“Why didn’t you save the others?”

Glaceon snorted. “With what army?”

Will sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Look pal, we all know you’re wicked powerful. Getting you out was the quickest way to get the rest of them out.” 

He really wasn’t sure why they needed to go through all of this. The CDC would work on curing Derek’s family and the other victims. The FBI would free any other Pokémon being held by Pharmetrix. He needed to be finding Derek. 

“I can feel the humans that were infected with my DNA. I can reverse that process. I am...sorry. I wasn’t able to do that for your father and the others before. Your father was kind as well.”

Will stared at him in shock. “Oh, yeah. Well. I don’t really remember him that much. But thanks. You said earlier that Derek wasn’t in that building, and I really hope that’s true since the building has collapsed now. But, could you tell me where he is? Or give me a clue? I gotta, I need, I-” He broke off. 

“You will not find him. He is not being held by the evil humans.”

Will felt the world crumble around him.


	9. Chapter 9

> [Flashback]  
>  Mewtwo looked down at Glaceon beside the still form of his friend. 
> 
> “I’m afraid he is beyond my help, little one.”
> 
> “Glaceon!” Glaceon’s fur bristled and then settled. “Glaceon,” he repeated, quieter.
> 
> A glance towards the Clawizter and the facility seemed to resolve Mewtwo. “The humans from this facility have no respect for Pokémon or human life and they have twisted Pokémon to their evil as well. This one. This one reminds me of a human I knew years ago. He is motivated by love. And your offer is motivated by love as well. I will accept your offer to save his life.” 
> 
> Stretching out his hand, Mewtwo’s powers reached out to Derek’s prone body and enveloped both Derek and Glaceon.
> 
> “Return to me with one he loves who loves him in equal measure and I will set things right.”

* * *

Make Way For Psyducks had been dressed up for something and Will could go over and see what, but he didn’t. He probably should. It was chilly, but not so cold that other people weren’t walking around Boston Commons and looking at the statues. Not so empty that it was obvious that he was standing next to a tree, staring across the road and watching Derek hug his parents and Diana. They were all safe and healthy and together again.

He turned his back and sat on one of the benches that flanked the path. He wasn’t sure what he was doing in the Commons. He should be back home in Eastie, trying to see if the insurance company needed him for anything or trying to get a cybersecurity gig lined up or something. Not spying on his friend.

Something knocked into his knee and he looked down to see Glaceon. 

“Hey, buddy. At least I know he’s got you to keep him safe, huh?”

“Keep me safe yourself, coward.”

Will looked up. He’d managed to not hear either of them approach, but it made sense that if Glaceon had come over then Derek wasn’t far behind. 

“How’d you know I was here?”

“Can’t hide the ginge, Dexy.”

Will ducked his head to avoid Derek’s hand as he reached out and tried to ruffle Will’s hair. 

“I’d recognize that shade anywhere. Were you coming to visit me?”

Will gestured towards his bag. “Returning your laptop and picture. I borrowed them to try to find you.” He paused and grimaced. “I reorganized your files a bit when I was trying to find your notes. Sorry.”

“It’s chill. Glad you remembered my password.” 

“Ayuh. There is a lovely noise about your name.”

Derek beamed at him and he ducked his head and looked away. 

“So, how do you want to do this?”

“Do what, Dexy?”

“Handle this. Deal with it. Are we pretending nothing happened? What? Just tell me what you want to do.”

Derek was quiet for a long time. Long enough that Will looked over out of the corner of his eyes to make sure he was ok.

“I don’t actually remember anything after running in the woods in Maine, until I was suddenly standing beside you in Medal of Honor Park. Or falling down beside you and you caught me.”

“Oh.”

“I figured Mewtwo must have done something to save my life, since he was there. But….” He trailed off and shrugged. “Why? How did you get me back? Was it true love’s kiss? Please tell me it was true love’s kiss.” 

And Derek was grinning and chirping him again.

“No, D- Nurse. I didn’t kiss your Glaceon.” Will sighed. “The important thing is everyone is healthy and safe again. I’ll just give you your stuff and go.”

“I do remember that you are Billy Fortin. My Prince Fortinbras.” Derek broke off with half a chuckle. “Better than Prince Fortinbras. Marching in to stop the tragedy instead of after it had already happened.”

Will stilled. He wasn’t sure where Derek was going with this. 

“You knew, didn’t you? Or had you forgotten about me entirely? By then?”

“I knew. I recognized you. On the prospect tour.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, I know I’m just a random poor kid, but we used to be friends until I had to move, and you never wrote me back. Remember? You asked me to marry you.’ That would have gone over real well. You hated me.”

“I never hated you. If I’d hated you, I wouldn’t have gotten so mad at you.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Ok. I wouldn’t have shown how mad I was.”

“That- Ok. Yeah. I get it.”

“And I never got your letters. I think my mom hid them from me.”

“Oh.”

“Still can’t believe I fell for the same boy twice.”

“Yeah. Wait. What?” Will turned and looked at Derek with wide eyes.

Derek sat very still and returned the look. “I figured Mewtwo told you. I couldn’t think of any other reason he’d need you there to heal me.”

“No. He said that he needed someone who loved you...” Will trailed off before whispering the last part, “In equal measure.”

“I’d really like to kiss you now.”

Will didn’t wait for Derek to move, pressing forward to meet him at his words, pressing together while holding himself back. Afraid to believe. Then Derek’s lips slid over his and opened to him and he gave up on holding back, opting, instead, to climb on Derek’s lap. 

“Derek.” He paused just long enough to breathe the name between kisses.

“Love my name on your lips.”

“There is a lovely noise about your name.”

“Will?”

“Yes?” It came out cracked and shaky and breathless. 

“Shut up.”

“Derek?”

“Yes?” Unfairly, Derek seemed to be maintaining his composure.

“Maybe we should make out at your house instead of on a public bench.”

Derek’s lips pulled into a grin under Will’s mouth. “I just asked for a kiss. You started the making out.” 

“If you’re opposed to it, I can still catch the next blue line….”

“Chill. My place is closer.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I can be yelled at on tumbls at [SexyDexyNurse](https://sexydexynurse.tumblr.com/)


End file.
